Hi!
I'm back
It turns out seriously diving won't be in the picture for me for the next 4 years or so, or until I get my degree (or maybe 7/8 depending on my studies...)
I'm here because I went on yet another holiday dive (in Dumagete, in the Philippines) with my dad, and now I'm sooo angry. And maybe posting here won't be much of a help, but I want to rant, I'm very sorry!
All our gear was set up for us ahead of time. My dad didn't check his stuff(pre-dive check) and I had to insist several times.
It makes me uncomfortable that we haven't even set up anything by ourselves.
The guide/manager has the boat staff to do EVERYTHING for us (and treats them like they're nothing, and makes fun of them). If I try to put on my fin by myself, they'll try to put the other one on for me at the same time -_- If I so much as try to check a strap, there's already two hands in the way, I don't even know how they do it... This guide make me so uncomfortable. We don't have a choice, because we are the only guests at the resort at the moment, and he's the only guide.
First dive today on a boat, guide tells us we can enter however we want to (positive or negative) but he prefers negative. Also tells us to hold on to corals and rocks if we want to get a look at anything. My dad goes ahead, no pre dive check, no talk of safety stops (and saying clearly he has forgotten how his computer works and will just follow the guide). They both descend without me. I almost catch up with them, my dad has mask problems, they both ascend without me, guide sees me and tells me to stay at the bottom, I ascend with them anyways. We descend again.
During the dive, we had some problems with the current. Also, the guide rarely turned around to look at us, just did his own thing. This would be fine with me if it hadn't been so clear that we had to follow him. My dad forgot to check his gas, I was the one who told him to when he had 100bar left.
Also, the guide was... I don't know how to say thing... He says he perfected his trim/buoyancy because he had his own gear, but he was lying and kneeling on the sand, grabbing on to rocks, poking things with his stick to make them move, and managed to kick corals while doing frog kick, and generally kicking something every 3 minutes.
On a positive note, my dad's buoyancy is slightly better, though his trim is not and we had quite a trail of clouds behind us...
Then my dad had 30 bar left, and I had 70, so the guide told me to stay there (9m deep), while he went up with my dad, and that he would join me again to continue diving. I refused, he insisted, I refuse again and ascend with them. Guide tells me I must not like diving, and insinuates that I am a chicken for sticking with the buddy system.
Second dive my dad doesn't feel well so he doesn't come. I get my gear on, they tell me it's ok, I check anyways, the air valve is closed. So much for "trust me" and negative entries. I also shouldn't have assumed that the guide was a buddy, he almost never turned around to check on me. I tried to signal when I had 100 bar left, and by the time I managed, I had 80bar left. He had misjudged the current, so instead of doing a drift dive as planned, we just fought the current all the way >< Signaled again when I had 50bar, then 30 bar. He said OK both times. By the time we
started ascending, I had 20 bar left. We weren't very deep, but I'd never met anyone else who was ok with deliberately staying under 30bar. He later said that anything above 0bar was OK...
We have a few more dives here. I feel like my dad is getting more and more complacent, and he keeps saying he'll just trust the guide. I'm lost. I'm not used to being the one bothering everyone else with safety concerns. I've insisted on pre-dive checks and positive entries (so that we actually descend together). I also want to always tell the guide I have 10bar less than I actually have, but I don't know it that's a good idea.
I'm so sorry for this long text. I don't know where else to put this. I wish that my only occasions for diving didn't have to be like this! ><